An SBC Insider Critiques Church Growth Philosophy

William Brown, associate professor of Evangelism and Church Planting at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, has a great article in SBC Life on church growth and Finneyism. He doesn't go as far in his critiques as I might, but I see his willingness to address the pragmatism-driven mindset in the SBC as a great step in the right direction, particularly given the prevailing winds in SBC evangelistic philosophy. I see this statement as the crux of his point:

One of the first rules of wilderness survival is stay in one spot. The more one tries to not be lost, the worst his situation becomes. Lost seekers can not find salvation, only another spiritual fix. Seeker theology has damaged the lost and the church. Many seekers have become "Christians" without experiencing conversion and becoming followers of Christ.

Vaccinations work by exposing the patient to a dead or weakened form of the disease, thereby promoting the body's immune system to reject the real disease. Have we inoculated a generation of Americans against biblical Christianity's call to discipleship? I am afraid so.

Rather than trying to attract the lost, the Good Shepherd went in search of the lost sheep. The Great Commission commands us to go. [emphasis mine]

HT: Tom Ascol at Founders Blog